Caterpillar to replace roof of future former headquarters

PEORIA — The Downtown building that is losing its title of global headquarters will undergo renovations into next year, just as operations at its replacement outside Chicago continue to build.

A crane and construction materials blocking one lane of Main Street closest to Caterpillar Inc. hint at the scope of the project: a new roof.

"The roof of Caterpillar Building AB in Downtown Peoria is being replaced as part of regularly scheduled maintenance and upkeep on the building," a company representative wrote in an email statement. "This work will begin in September 2017 and carry through 2018."

The building just across Northeast Jefferson Avenue from the Peoria County Courthouse had been slated for demolition under a plan to build a new global headquarters campus that was unveiled in early 2015.

But that plan stalled as a downturn in business for Caterpillar shifted into historic proportions, and the company undertook a major restructuring. More than 16,000 people throughout the company lost jobs, and 30 facilities closed or consolidated around the world.

At the beginning of this year, under the leadership of newly named CEO Jim Umpleby, the plan disappeared. The idea for a new, lean global headquarters in the Chicago area replaced it.

The company eventually settled on a site in Deerfield and entered a long-term lease in April. Some employees have already started working out of the new office, but documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission still identify Building AB as Caterpillar's headquarters.

"Employees have begun working out of our Deerfield location, with about 100 expected by the end of 2017, and about 300 by mid-2018 when fully operational," the company's statement concluded.

Matt Buedel can be reached at 686-3154 or mbuedel@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @JournoBuedel.